All About Engagement Pictures

If you follow me on any and all social media (and if you don't, well why not?) then you would know that we received our engagement pictures! You may have already seen some of the pictures from the second I got those babies in my hand, but I didn't share the majority until today. I also thought I would write some tips for taking engagement photos because I was a nervous wreck the days leading up to actually taking the pictures. So here are some pictures, and some tips for my fellow brides to be. 

1. Be comfortable - This was huge for us, we are not ones to be overly fancy and I didn't want to fake that in our pictures at all. I wanted our pictures to be completely 100% true to our personality and styles. We got started at 7 am before the heat was unbearable to take pictures, and even at 7 am it was pretty warm. Don't wear anything that will make you look and feel uncomfortable, its not worth it.

2. Go with the flow - Being the control freak that I am, sometimes I can be a little afraid to look silly (only in front of people I'm not comfortable with) or do things without planning first. I had to let go big time. Let your photographer lead the way because hopefully they'll know what they are doing.

3. Bring an outfit change - I knew that I wanted to wear a casual dress and something even more casual. Once again, go by your own personal style though. When you look on pinterest you sometimes see these elaborate outfits with perfect high heels that these girls are wearing, and that's just not me at all. I wanted to have two outfits that I knew would work best for me. By the way - I had to change in our blazing hot car for the second outfit change into my jeans and you could totally tell I was a little wiped out after that. 

4. Bring supplies - I packed like I was going on a weekend trip when going to take these pictures. I was equipped with bobby pins, my makeup, chapstick, water, and anything else you might need. We were about 20-30 minutes out of town so I brought things to freshen up in the middle.

What was your experience with taking engagement photos, or how are you looking forward to them?


Linking up for Wedding Wednesday!

Five on Friday

Well this week has been pretty crazy, and here are some things I wanted to talk about on this Sunday (for me) Friday. 

1. If you follow me on twitter you probably saw that I mentioned that my eye looked like I got punched. Well, I've never been in a fight..ever. Don't plan to either. But I do think a lot of people in public thought I was in an abusive situation by the way I was being looked at. I'll make this short an sweet: Apparently I was bit by a bug or insect, who knows. It got really infected and turned into cellulitis, which isn't what it sounds like. I went to the doctor and now I am taking really huge antibiotics to help this stupid infection go away! I must say spring, if these insects make an appearance again I may knock you down to my least favorite month ever. 

2. Self tanner...If you read my Beauty Box 5 review post, you probably saw that I mentioned how excited I was to try out Jergens "3 days to glow". Well, sadly after using day one of this stuff my entire body looked a streaky mess. Now, I have so many Jergens gradual tanning products and love them, and never had a problem with streaking. This product is so intense that from just using day one my skin looked so dark but so messy and orange. I'm not sure if a tanning mit would have helped me or if I am too fair skinned for this particular product, but it just didn't work for me. Oh, and it has been a few days since applying and I have scrubbed and it still wont budge. 

Now, onto some happier things!

3. Easter is something that I am so looking forward to. Since I never have weekends off this will be nice to be with my family and to of course celebrate the reason for Easter. 

4. Flowers from Trader Joe's are a favorite right now. I purchased some pink tulips for only $3.99 last week and they are still going strong! 

5. Nail polish overload. Sometime last week I started following an instagram account that sells Essie nail polish for an amazing price and ships them to you. I had to buy more and now I have absolutely no more storage for anymore nail polish. Someone please tell me where to buy decent nail polish storage or how you have found to store yours. 

That's all for this week, I hope you all have a great Easter and I'll be back Monday!

I linked up for Five on Friday at North Carolina Charm

The perfect getaway

These past few days were filled with so much happiness and days off that didn't include homework, grocery shopping, and cleaning! Since this was the week of my Birthday and Valentines day I thought I would post about our week!

Wednesday: This was my 22nd birthday! I had work until 5pm and was surprised that my co-workers brought me such sweet gifts. (I work with my mom in the office, so I know that's how they knew) After work we went straight to BJ's which is where we had dinner and I got to open presents from my mom and sisters. I also had a red velvet pizookie, which if you don't know what that is then you need one right NOW. Its a hot baked soft cookie, with ice cream on top and it's amaze. After dinner Joe and I went home, where I found flowers and the whole living room decorated with balloons, streamers, and a banner for my birthday and Valentines day. I swear he's the best.

Also, on mine and my moms lunch break we went and looked at a wedding venue and I think it may be the one!!

Thursday: I had class which was a bummer because Joe and I wanted to head to the beach, but I had to be responsible first. Thankfully, my teacher let us out 45 minutes early and we were good to go! We left home around 2:30 and arrived in Morro Bay around 5:00. With the help from a Venti Starbucks Carmel Macchiato; thanks birthday reward! We were just in time to see the sunset, so we checked into our room and walked down to the dock and ate dinner watching the sunset! When we went back to the room we watched a show that I swore I would never, ever watch but when you're in a hotel without your trusty DVR you will stoop low. We watched three episodes of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.......I am so ashamed. We got sucked in because of how horrible it was. I know, no excuses but it's true. Then after that train wreck, we went to sleep.

Friday: This was our one and only full day to spend at the beach so we got a really early start and headed to Pismo beach, the fog was really thick and crazy so we waked the boardwalk, bought a ton of candy, and ate at the best place for clam chowder - Splash Café. We did some mandatory outlet shopping and headed back to Morro Bay. When we got back it was still pretty cold but so much less fog, so we decided to go to the aquarium and feed the Seals! This was Joe's first time doing this, I have done this since I was little so I took pictures while he held raw fish to feed them. They would bark for the treats and slap their bellies, it was funny. Then we walked the beach on the hunt for sand dollars which is something you just have to do when you go there. They are my mom's favorite and I wanted to get one for everyone! We found a ton thankfully and walked the beach for a while. We were missing Pepper pretty bad and we still had a three hour trip home, so we decided to leave and head home.

This fish seriously was scary..

I could not have asked for a better Birthday weekend! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

I am linking up with Rachael and Lisa!

Smoothie Obsession

I recently received a blender as a gift from my sister and her boyfriend Anthony, I had been wanting one ever since Joe and I moved into our own place. I was a little too excited (adult probs) to have a blender and immediately knew I wanted to start doing smoothies for breakfast. I have noticed after doing smoothies every morning for a week straight that I have so much more energy, as apposed to when I drink coffee which gives me energy for about an hour and then I crash and feel grumpy. I already have a certain recipe that I kind of threw together and I am loving it, so I wanted to share with you all!

I have been using:

1 Banana
2 Tablespoons of Greek Plain Yogurt (great for protein)
2 handfuls of Organic Spinach (the tubs are so much easier and the spinach is already washed, organic has no pesticides.)
3-4 of the Frozen Peach Slices
3-4 Mango Cubes
A splash of Orange Juice
A couple of Ice Cubes

**This makes enough for Joe and I to both have a smoothie each morning**

~Always make sure when buying frozen fruit that the only ingredient is the fruit itself and not any extra sugar or anything else. ~



You honestly don't taste the spinach whatsoever and you know your getting all of your vitamins in the morning!

If any of you have any great smoothie recipes or other veggies or anything else that would be good in my smoothie let me know! I have been wanting to try Chia Seeds in my smoothies.

I'm Engaged + Our Engagement Story

Last night was one of the most amazing nights of my life and I of course wanted to share it. I can honestly say that not many surprises ever get by me, but with the help of my mom, Joe was able to give me the biggest surprise of my life.

My family decided a while ago that we were all going to this Christmas event at a museum in our town. Little did I know that they all knew a secret that my boyfriend had something bigger planned that night. I was really excited because I love Christmas, lights, and hot chocolate. Who doesn't??

It was a perfect night with my closest family. We drank hot chocolate, and looked at really beautiful lights. My mom wanted to get some pictures of us all, so first she asks Joe and I to get in front of this really beautiful gazebo. Before I knew it, Joe was on one knee proposing to me. I was blown away, I couldn't even form words. The fact that I didn't even suspect a thing, not even from my mom was such a surprise. Finally, after realizing what was actually happening I said YES!

Joe knows how much I love Christmastime, so this was the perfect and most beautiful location for him to propose at. I wish we had better pictures from the night, but it was really dark.  I'll personally never forget the moment though so that's okay.

I've never been more excited for anything in my entire life. After almost four years of dating, we knew we of course wanted to marry each other. I'm just so excited that we are officially ENGAGED! I get to plan a wedding and spend forever with my favorite person ever.

Thank you so much already for the sweet words on Instagram and Facebook. I cannot wait to share this journey with you all!